Background
Eric was one of ten children of Duke John V of Saxe-Lauenburg and Dorothea of Brandenburg (1446–1519), daughter of the Elector Frederick II of Brandenburg.
Eric was one of ten children of Duke John V of Saxe-Lauenburg and Dorothea of Brandenburg (1446–1519), daughter of the Elector Frederick II of Brandenburg.
In 1484 it was proposed that he should study at university, so he went to Cologne and graduated in law (in particular, canon law) at the University of Cologne.
He came into contact with the cathedral chapter at Cologne at an early age. In 1487, he was ordained as a priest and on 27 October 1490, he received a prebendary in Cologne. He held another prebendary in Hildesheim, where he was elected bishop on 21 May 1502.
His election was confirmed by Pope Alexander VI. Eric returned to his post in Cologne.
In 1508, Conrad VI of Rietberg, Bishop of Osnabrück and Münster, died. The cathedral chapter at Münster elected Eric as his successor, preferring him over Francis of Waldeck and John of Rietberg, a nephew of the late Conrad and canon at Cologne.
This, he belonged to the League of Lüneburg, opposing Henry the Younger of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Eric I of Brunswick-Göttingen-Calenberg, Bishop Francis of Minden, and the Knights of Saldern. During a dispute with Count Klaus the Hedges Rider of Tecklenburg, Eric occupied the County of Lingen.
Emperor Charles V imposed an imperial ban on all members of the League, including Eric.